• Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL): Research and Citation Resources
  Standard resource in academia for citation guidelines including APA, MLA, ASA and Chicago.

To plagiarize is to present someone else’s work – his or her words, line of thought, or organizational structure – as our own. This occurs when sources are not cited properly, or when permission is not obtained from the original author to use his or her work…

1. Minimal plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, doing any of the following without attribution:
   1. inserting verbatim phrases of 2-3 distinctive words;
   2. substituting synonyms into the original sentence rather than rewriting the complete sentence;
   3. reordering the clauses of a sentence;
   4. imitating the sentence, paragraph, or organizational structure, or writing style of a source;
   5. using a source’s line of logic, thesis or ideas.
2. Substantial plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, doing any of the following without attribution:
   1. inserting verbatim sentences or longer passages from a source;
   2. combining paraphrasing with verbatim sentences to create a paragraph or more of text;
   3. repeatedly and pervasively engaging in minimal plagiarism.
3. Complete plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, doing any of the following without attribution:
   1. submitting or presenting someone’s complete published or unpublished work (paper, article, or chapter);
   2. submitting another student’s work for an assignment, with or without that person’s knowledge or consent;
   3. using information from a campus file of old assignments;
   4. downloading a term paper from a web site;
   5. buying a term paper from a mail order company or web site;
   6. reusing or modifying a previously submitted paper (e.g., from another course) for a present assignment without obtaining prior approval from the instructors involved.

For more information on plagiarism, please consult a librarian or check out a book ( Quick Coach Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism and more) at the library.